Similar to Samuel, the name Saul means asked of God.
He will be the king that was asked for by the people, a reminder of the people’s sin in rejecting the Lord (1 Samuel 8:1–22).1 Even though the Lord chose and appointed him as king, he is nevertheless not the Lord’s choice but the people’s choice. A king from the tribe of Benjamin and not Judah (see Genesis 49:10), Saul is the man who would come nearest to fulfilling the people’s idea of what a king should be.2
2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.